Chapter 119- Sima Yan Usurped Cao Huan and Declared Emperor of Jin Dynasty

Jiang Wei, right? The defeated general. He spots the rivalry between Deng Ai and Zhang Hui. He sees it as his absolute last chance, a desperate one. He figured, correctly it turns out, that Zhang Hui's jealousy over Deng Ai's victory was the weak point, the place to drive a wedge. Okay, so let's get into that first plot. Jiang Wei and Zhang Hui team up, temporarily at least. They agree Deng Ai, the guy who actually won, is just too powerful, he needs to go. And Jiang Wei suggests this really risky plan, using the military supervisor, Wei Guan, to arrest Deng Ai. Yeah, it was a classic setup, a poison chalice, really. Zhang Hui totally expected Deng Ai to see Wei Guan showing up as an insult, basically. He thought Deng Ai would just execute Wei Guan on the spot. Which would give Zhang Hui the excuse he needed to attack Deng Ai. Exactly. The plan was designed for Wei Guan to fail, spectacularly. A pawn to be sacrificed. But Wei Guan's people apparently saw the trap. I mean, why would Wei Guan even agree to march into Chengdu? He must have suspected Zhang Hui was using him. Oh, he absolutely suspected. But the thing is, Wei Guan was sharp, a brilliant tactician in his own right. And he understood people and the rules maybe better than Zhang Hui realized. This is kind of the first big aha moment here. Real tactical genius. He didn't just charge in, he didn't have the muscle for that anyway. Instead, he launched a psychological campaign against Deng Ai's own troops. Okay, how did he take down the conqueror without even, like, drawing a sword? Propaganda, basically. Fast-targeted propaganda. Before he even got close to Chengdu, Wei Guan sent out, I think the text says, two or three dozen proclamations. Xiwen. And these were not subtle messages. They offered immediate, generous pardon and rewards, jue shning ru shian, to any of Deng Ai's soldiers who switched sides right then and there. That's the carrot. But I'm guessing there was a pretty big stick, too. Oh, definitely. The real power, the terrifying part, was the threat of extermination of three clans. Yes, on Zoom. For anyone who didn't comply. Yeah, you have to understand the fear that carried. It wasn't just you dying. It was your parents, your wife, your children, your whole extended family, wiped out. So for an ordinary soldier, loyalty to Deng Ai suddenly looked, well, a lot less important than keeping his entire family alive. That is chilling and incredibly effective, I imagine. It forces this awful choice between loyalty to your commander and the literal survival of everyone you care about. And the effect was, well, instant. Like Cockcrow, Ji Ming So, before dawn. Before the sun's even up. Right. Deng Ai's men were just melting away, defecting to Weiguan. So Weiguan basically just walks in and arrests Deng Ai and his son, Deng Zong, while they were still in bed. Completely clueless about what was happening outside. Wow. Talk about humiliation. And then Zhang Hui and Zhang Wei show up to gloat, right? Rub it in. What did they actually say? The text mentioned specific insults. They really twisted the knife. They absolutely did. Zhang Hui, who'd apparently been jealous of Deng Ai for ages, actually hits him with a whip and calls him a calf-rearing boy in the guqin air. Ouch. Why that specific insult? It was a nasty jab at Deng Ai's humble beginnings. He started out managing military supplies, basically farm work. Zhang Hui was trying to strip away all his military dignity. And Zhang Wei, the guy Deng Ai just defeated, he gets a parting shot, too. Yep. Zhang Wei mocks him for his reckless opportunism. Sing, sing, jing, jing. It's a political dagger. He's basically saying Deng Ai's brilliant military campaign, the thing that conquered Shu, was just some crazy, uncontrolled gamble. Pure luck. Dismissing his achievement entirely. Exactly. Then they shove Deng Ai and his son into those awful prison carts, and ship them off towards Luyang. Presumably for execution. So the conqueror is gone. Zhang Hui's got all the troops now. He must feel like he's finally made it. The top dog in Shu. But Zhang Wei, having helped him get there, immediately does something interesting. He gives Zhang Hui this, like, philosophical warning. Yeah, the shift is amazing. It really shows Zhang Wei probing Zhang Hui. He said something like, look, your great achievement is complete now. He advises Zhang Hui to basically quit while he's ahead. Retreat. Give up power. Avoid ending up like Han Xin, you know, guys who got destroyed by the very rulers they helped. He even suggests a retirement spot. Go hang out with the hermit red pine master Ji Song Xing up on Mount Yimai. It sounds almost sincere. But maybe it was a test. Oh, it was definitely a test. Absolutely. Wrapped up in wise-sounding advice, Zhang Wei needed to know, is Zhang Hui just a general serving way, or is he aiming to be the power? And Zhang Hui walks right into it. Completely. He just laughs it off, says something like, I'm not even 40. I'm still looking for advancement, Gene Q. He basically flashes a giant neon sign saying, yes, I have massive ambition, and these armies are mine now. And that's the cue for Zhang Wei's real plan, the double cross. While he's helping Zhang Hui plan a rebellion against Wei, he sends a secret message. A secret, highly sensitive letter to the captured later Lord Lushan. This is pure, desperate patriotism from Zhang Wei. What did the letter say? What was he promising? It was basically telling Lushan to hang in there, endure the humiliation for just a few more days. He promised his plotting would eventually save the kingdom, restore the Han dynasty. The line is something like, uh, the state altar's endangered, will be secure again, the sun and moon obscured, will shine again. So Zhang Wei's just using Zhang Hui, a tool to get Xu Han back. Precisely. Zhang Hui is completely disposable in Zhang Wei's eyes. Okay, but back in the Wei capital, Sima Zhao is no fool. He sees this coming, doesn't he? He makes a move that seems designed to force Zhang Hui's hand. Yeah, this is Sima Zhao playing mind games at a master level. He sends Zhang Hui a letter, and it basically says, hey, I'm worried you can't handle Deng Ai all by yourself. Even though Zhang Hui just captured Deng Ai. Exactly. So the letter continues, I'm personally bringing my main army to Chang'an, just in case. Whoa. That would set off alarm bells, right? Zhang Wei would immediately think, he knows. He knows I'm up to something, and he's coming for me. Precisely. It forces Zhang Hui's hand, removes any lingering doubt, he panics, and immediately decides with Zhang Wei, okay, we have to rebel now. And they cook up this story about finding a secret dying edict, Yi Zhao, from the Empress Dowager Guo, who had recently died. What did this fake edict supposedly say? It conveniently instructed them to attack Sima Zhao for, you know, the crime of killing the previous emperor, regicide. A justification for their rebellion. Clever. But they still need the other Wei generals in Shu on board. And the way they try to secure that loyalty is dramatic. The Lantern Festival. Yeah, Yuan Shi Jie. A night that's supposed to be about celebration and lights. They turn it into a trap. Zhang Wei throws this big banquet in the old Shu palace, gets all the important Wei generals there. Then he springs the rebellion decree on them, tells them they have to sign it. And to make sure they do, he's standing there with his sword, literally drawn, Bajian Shuqiao, threatening to execute anyone right there who refuses. It's like about pressure. Yeah. So they sign, but out of fear. Pure fear. But signing doesn't save them. Zhang Wei immediately has them all arrested and imprisoned right there in the palace. And this is where Zhang Wei urges Zhang Wei to be absolutely ruthless, isn't it? No half measures. Zhang Wei is thinking like a revolutionary here. He sees these imprisoned generals as a massive liability, a potential counter-rebellion waiting to happen. So he advises Zhang Wei to kill them. Now, get rid of them. How? His suggestion is brutal. Just beat them to death with clubs and bury them in a pre-dug pit. Kangxi, just eliminate the problem. No trials, nothing. Hold. Efficient. Yeah. But the plan gets derailed by someone unexpected, right? A minor figure. A guy named Qi Jian. This is where the grand conspiracy starts to unravel because of, well, human connections. Qi Jian used to serve under one of the imprisoned generals, Hu Lai. And ironically, Zhang Wei had assigned Qi Jian to be one of the guards watching the prisoners. Big mistake. Huge mistake. Because Qi Jian is loyal to his old boss, Hu Lai manages to secretly get the whole plan, the rebellion, the plan executions relayed through Qi Jian. Qi Jian gets the message out to Hu Lai's son, Hu Yuan, who commands troops outside the palace. It always comes down to trust, doesn't it? Zhang Wei trusted Qi Jian because he assigned him the job, not because he'd earned his loyalty. Exactly. So Hu Yuan gets the message, spreads the word to the other commanders outside. They're obviously horrified. They agree to storm the palace and rescue their generals. They set the time, noon on the 18th day of the first month. And guess who decides to back this mutiny? Let me guess. Wei Guan, the guy who arrested Deng Ai. You got it. Wei Guan throws his lot in with the mutineers. He knows Zhang Wei is unstable and probably dangerous to him too. So the stage is set. Three huge figures, Zhang Wei and Zhang Wei and sort of Deng Ai by proxy, are all on a collision course. It's about to explode. Right. And on the morning of the 18th, Zhang Wei seems uneasy. He tells Zhang Wei about a bad dream he had. What was the dream? Thousands of huge snakes all biting him. A pretty clear omen of betrayal and disaster, you'd think. But Zhang Wei brushes it off. Yeah, Zhang Wei is focused. He wants those generals executed before anything else can go wrong. He quickly reassures Zhang Wei. Oh no, that's a good sign. It's an omen of good fortune. Ji Qingzi's Zhao basically lies to keep the plan on track. So Zhang Wei, maybe reassured, maybe just pressured, orders the executions to begin. He does. But just as Zhang Wei is getting ready to give the order to have the generals killed, he suddenly clutches his chest. He's struck by this intense heart pain jinting and collapses. It causes just enough delay. Wow. Almost like fate stepping in. It feels like it, doesn't it? Because at that exact moment, all hell breaks loose outside. The mutiny starts. Hu Yan, Wei Guan, their troops, they storm the palace. The imprisoned generals inside hear the commotion, see their chants, and fight their way out. Chaos everywhere. And Zhang Wei, where is he in all this? Trapped. Caught completely by surprise in the palace. He tries to fight back, apparently grabs a sword, but he's overwhelmed. Shot down by arrows, then they cut off his head. Xiu Xiu. A swift end. What about Zhang Wei? He collapsed. But was he out of it? No. He gets up. Despite the heart pain flaring up again, he fights. Fights desperately. Until he realizes it's hopeless. And his final words are just heartbreaking. He cries out, My plan has failed! It is the will of heaven! Wu Ji Bu Cheng, Ni Tian Ming Ye. He blames fate itself. He does. And then, seeing no way out, he kills himself. Zi Wen. He was 59. And then there's that. That really gruesome detail the text includes. About his gallbladder. Yeah, it's quite macabre. The victorious Wei soldiers, apparently full of anger, or maybe a strange kind of respect, cut open his body, gong pi yue fo. They find his gallbladder is unusually large. As large as a chicken egg. Din da ru ji lu. Which in Chinese tradition signifies great courage and boldness. A sort of visceral posthumous testament to his legendary spirit. Tilling. And his family. Executed. The whole family. Standard practice for failed rebellions. So in just a couple of days, Zong Gui and Jiang Wei are both dead. But wait, we forgot someone. Deng Ai is still alive, right? In that prison cart. Exactly. He and his son are still being transported towards Lu Yang. But when Deng Ai's loyal former troops hear that Zong Gui is dead, the guy who arrested their commander, they're furious. They chase down the prison escort, overpower them, and free Deng Ai and Deng Xiong. So Deng Ai is free for a moment. It looks like he might actually survive this. Just for a moment. Because now Wei Guan, the guy who arrested Deng Ai in the first place, starts to panic. Why? Zong Gui is dead. Because if Deng Ai gets back to the capital, gets back into Sima Zhao's good graces, what's the first thing he's going to do? He's going to point the finger at Wei Guan for arresting him on false pretenses. Wei Guan knows his life is now on the line. Ah, right. Self-preservation kicks in. Immediately. So Wei Guan makes a quick, ruthless decision. He sends another general, Tian Zhu, to hunt Deng Ai down. Tian Zhu. Why him specifically? Another bit of calculated cruelty. Tian Zhu held a personal grudge against Deng Ai. Apparently, Deng Ai had threatened to execute Tian Zhu during the campaign over some tactical disagreement. Wei Guan knew Tian Zhu would be highly motivated by revenge. More reliable than just ordering a random soldier. So it's personal vengeance again, not state policy, that seals Deng Ai's fate. Pretty much. Tian Zhu and his men catch up to Deng Ai and his son near Mianzhu. And the final irony. Deng Ai sees the riders coming. He thinks it's more of his loyal troops coming to escort him. He lets his guard down. Oh no. And Tian Zhu just rides up and kills both Deng Ai and Deng Zhong on the spot. No questions asked. Unbelievable. The Conqueror of Shu freed for maybe a few hours, then killed by his own side because of the ripple effects of the conspiracy he was initially a victim of. It's an absolutely brutal rapid-fire sequence. Conqueror jailed. Jailer killed. Conqueror freed. Conqueror killed again by the jailer's ally. All within days. And in the middle of all this fighting and score settling, other loyal Shu figures get killed too. Yes, the chaos was widespread. The text mentions General Zheng Yi, one of the last senior commanders, Prince Lu Huan, one of Lu Shan's sons, and even Guan Yu, who is Guan Yu's grandson, all killed in the confusion. So this is really the final bloody end for Shu Hun's administration. It is. Eventually, Sima Zhao's representative, Jia Chang, manages to restore some order. The later lord, Lu Shan, is then formally escorted, or maybe moved is a better word, to Luyang. Only a handful of his former officials go with him. People like Fan Jian, Zhang Xiao, Qiao Zhu, Shi Zheng. What about the others? The ones who weren't killed or captured? You mentioned some poignant ends. Right. Figures like Liao Hua and Dong Zhu. These were old veterans. Guys who had served Shu Hun for decades, back to the time of Zhu Qilin. They basically just gave up. They pretended to be sick, retreated from public life, and the text says they died of grief. You should assume a quiet, sorrowful end, choosing death over serving Wei. It speaks volumes about their loyalty. It really does. Okay, so Shu is gone. The dust is settling there. The focus immediately shifts, right, to the last kingdom standing. Wu. Instantly. Down south, the Wu general, Ding Feng, who had troops near the border, sees Shu collapse and pulls his forces back. The game has changed. And this is when we get that really famous warning inside the Wu court. From the middle secretary, Hua He, to the Wu emperor, Sun Ji. The lips and teeth analogy, it's so vivid. It is. Hua, he tells the emperor, Wu and Shu are like the lips and the teeth. When the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold. Meaning, Shu was their buffer against Wei, now that Shu's gone. Wei is coming for Wu next. He explicitly warns that Sima Zhao's ambition won't stop. Wu is the next target. A prediction that turned out to be absolutely correct, though it took a few more years. So Wu starts preparing. They do. They finally get serious about defense. They appoint Liu Kang, who was the son of the legendary strategist Liu Xun, so a very capable commander, to oversee the defenses along the Yangtze River. They set up hundreds of camps, put the veteran Ding Feng in charge of the river fleet. They brace for the inevitable final showdown. You mentioned one more example of loyalty from the Shu side. A governor. It stands out against all the backstabbing. Yeah, Governor Hu Jie, he was in charge of Xianning, a southern commandery. When he heard Chengdu had fallen and the later lord captured, he didn't just surrender. Instead, he put on mourning clothes and officially mourned for three days. Why is that significant? Because he refused to surrender his territory to Wei until he received confirmation about how the later lord Liu Shan was being treated. His principle was, Jiang Chengzhi, if the sovereign is disgraced, the minister must die. His loyalty was to the honor of his ruler, not just to political reality. It's a stark contrast to the naked ambition we saw in Chengdu. A very different kind of code. Liu Shan, son of Liu Bei, arrives in Luyang, the Wei capital. He surrendered. Yeah, he gave up pretty quickly, avoided a big bloody siege. But Sima Zhao, the real power in Wei, his first instinct was execution. Uh-huh. He apparently wanted him gone. The stated reason wasn't just defeat though. It was debauchery and misrule. That was the official line. But his officials talked him out of it. They did. They argued, you know, pragmatically. Since Liu Shan surrendered fast and peacefully, clemency looked good. Ah, sends a message. Surrender is better than fighting to the death. Exactly. Reinforces that idea. So Liu Shan gets spared, but it sounds like he's put in a kind of gilded cage. Totally. He's made the Duke of An- Duke of Peace and Happiness. Yeah. That title alone feels like a jab. It really does. Like, your only job now is to enjoy yourself. Got a house, tons of money, silk, servants. Neutralized with luxury. Pretty much. But the real test, the moment everyone remembers, is at that banquet Sima Zhao threw. Right. The infamous, Pleased here I do not miss shoe incident. Zhao was definitely testing him. First, he has Wei music and dances performed. How did people react? The old shoe officials. They looked miserable thinking of home. Liu Shan. Ackie is a clam. Okay. Then Zhao twists the knife. He does. Orders up the music from Shu, their lost kingdom. A deliberate emotional trap. And the Shu officials. Weeping. Just openly crying, mourning everything. Liu Shan, though. What? Laughing. Enjoying himself like nothing was wrong. Completely untouched. Wow. That's something. What did Sima Zhao make of that? Well, that's when he leans over to his advisor, Jie Chong. Yeah. And he says something like, Such a lack of feeling. You know, if even Xu Zhiliang couldn't prop this guy up, how could Jiang Wei possibly manage? So Zhao realizes Liu Shan is just politically inert. Not a threat. Exactly. Just a man-child focused on comfort. So Zhao asks him straight up that loading question. Do you miss Xu? And Liu Shan's answer. Immediate. Almost cheerful. I am happy here. I do not miss Xu. That level of apathy must have shocked even Zhao. You have to think so. I mean, what luck, right? The defeated king is totally harmless. But one of his guys, Xu Zheng, saw the danger in that kind of honesty. Right. Xu Zheng knew this looked bad politically. So during a break, he pulls Liu Shan aside, tries to coach him. Give him some lines. Yeah. Tells him basically, next time Zhao asks, you gotta cry. Fake it if you have to. What's he supposed to say? Something like, My ancestors' tombs are far away in the west. My heart aches for Xu. I miss it every day. Please, Duke of Jin, send me home. Clever. Make him seem like a potential rallying point so Zhao keeps him close under watch. Signal danger to ensure safety. Smart politics. But Liu Shan wasn't exactly an actor. Not even close. Zhao asks again, do you miss Xu? Liu Shan tries. He attempts the lines. But the text says he wants to cry but has no tears. He just closes his eyes, fumbles it. Oh dear. Did Zhao buy it? Not for a second. Sima Zhao's a master manipulator. He immediately says, Why do those words sound exactly like Xu Zheng told you to say them? Busted. How did Liu Shan react? Terrified. He basically blurts out the absent truth of the situation. Just as you command. Meaning, I'll say whatever you want. I'm just your puppet. And Zhao's reaction to that? He just burst out laughing. Realized the man was utterly incapable of even pretending to be a threat. So the poem later calls him a mediocre talent. Yeah. For forgetting his home for pleasure. But maybe that was his survival strategy. It's a grim thought. But yeah, embracing uselessness might have been his smartest political move, in a way. And what about the real bad guy in the Xu court? Huang Hao, the eunuch. Ah, his fate was very different. No comfortable retirement for him. He was dragged out and executed by Lin Chi. Lin Chi, slow slicing. Brutal. Extremely. A very public, very horrifying execution in the market square. A clear signal from the Simas. This is who we blame for Xu's fall. Okay, so Xu is dealt with. Lu Shan is neutralized. Sima Zhao's power and way is now absolute, basically. Pretty much. Conquering Xu removed the last major external challenge. So the puppet emperor, Cao Huan, does the inevitable. Elevates him. Yep. Makes him Jin Weng, king of Jin. And they start building the dynastic narrative immediately, right? Yeah. With the honor. Exactly. Critical step. His dead father, Sima Yi, is made Xuan Weng. His deceased elder brother, Sima Xi, becomes Jing Wei. Father, brother, himself. Three generations laying the groundwork. It frames it not as a sudden grab. The destiny unfolding over decades. But this promotion brings up a huge problem for Zhao. Who takes over after him. Succession. The classic dilemma. And he had two sons quite different. Sima Yan, the elder. What was he like? The sources describe him with all the imperial tropes. Ew. Tall. Sturdy. Hands past his knees. A classic hero sign. Supernatural talent. Basically, destiny's child. And the younger son? Sima Yu. Gentler. Zhao apparently favored him personally. And crucially, Zhao had designated Yu as the heir to his brother, Sima Xi, who died childless. Huh. So Zhao felt obligated to his brother's line. He wanted you to be the successor. Desperately, it seems. Keep his brother's legacy going. But the advisors. Jiatron, Pei Xu, the big names. Unanimous. They all told him, don't do it. Don't pick the younger son. Why not? History lessons. They pointed to times when ignoring the eldest son led to playas. Infighting. Civil war. They pushed for Sima Yan, the destined one for stability. Hold on. Zhao is the king of Jin, the military strongman. Why couldn't he just say, nope, it's you? Uh, but that's the tricky part of usurpation politics, isn't it? He was an emperor yet, still technically a Wei subject. Right. He needed to look like his rise was based on wisdom, consensus, stability, not just personal whim. Overruling all his top advisors would look like tyranny. Undermine the whole legitimacy project. So the ministers carried the day. Stability over personal preference. It looks like it. Zhao reluctantly named Sima Yan as crown prince. The Xi. And almost immediately, there's an omen reported. Yeah, convenient timing. Right. Officials report some guy appeared in Xiangwu County, called himself the king of the people, announced a change in rule, lasting peace. Basically, a divine thumbs up for the Simas. You got it. Sealed the deal, justified the minister's choice. Okay, so the path is clear. Zhao starts accepting the top imperial symbols, the special crown, the six horse carriage. He's right there. Right on the verge. Preparing to eat, finalizing everything, and then completely out of the blue. What happens? He has a stroke. Apoplexy. Gulapina loses the ability to speak. Just like that. No way. After all that maneuvering. Decades of plotting, war, intrigue. Silenced right at the finish line. He died the very next day. That's incredible timing. Almost literary. It is dramatic. And his final act, no words left. He just points. Points to Sima Yan. Yep. The designated heir. Yan immediately steps up, takes the title Jinwang. Seamless transition. Power secured. Okay, so the father clears the path, dies. The son steps in. Now it's time for the final act. Usurpation. Exactly. Sima Yan meets with the key guys, Jiacheng and Peishu. Time to write the final scene. And they need a justification, a narrative. How do they frame this? Well, Yan apparently brings up Cao's old line. If heaven wills it for me, I shall be King Wen of Zhu. Asking, essentially, are we just doing what the Cao's did? And Jiacheng provides the necessary spin. Oh yeah, the perfect justification. He says Cao Cao had to be modest because the Han still had some power then. A butt, the Sima. Jiacheng argues their merits are way greater. Conquer Chu, help the people, unlike Cao Cai's harsh rule. Therefore, Yan should follow Cao Cai's precedent. Use the same playbook. The established, legitimate way to take over from a weak dynasty. Precisely. Which means a confrontation, a formal handover. So Yan just walks into the palace, finds Emperor Cao Huan. And demands the throne. Cao Huan, completely powerless, has to admit it. A scripted surrender. But it wasn't entirely smooth, was it? Someone objected. One man, Zong Ji, the yellow gate attendant. He steps forward and yells it out. Freighter who usurps the country. Wow, gutsy move. Incredibly brave. And Sima Yan's reaction. How did he handle that? He couldn't let that stand. Immediate, brutal response. But wrapped in yet another layer of justification. What did he claim? He got furious and shouted that he was avenging the Han dynasty. You know, the dynasty that Cao's had overthrown. Unbelievable spin. So he's not a usurper, he's a restorer. Right. And under that pretext, he orders Zong Ji beaten to death right there. Emperor Cao Huan just weeps. Sees the reality. That violence silences any other potential dissent, I imagine. Absolutely. After that, Jia Chong persuades the weeping emperor to hold the ceremony. The acceptance of the mandate, alter. The exact same ritual the Cao's used when they took power from the Han 45 years earlier. It's all about precedent, making it look proper. So, the final step. Cao Huan hands over the imperial seal. To Sima Yan, who then formally founds the Great Jin dynasty. And declares the start of the Tai Chi era. And Cao Huan. What happens to the now former emperor? Exiled, but comfortably. Given the title, Prince of Qianlong. Kept safe. Politically irrelevant. Just like the last Han emperor under the Cao's. Yeah. The standard procedure for peaceful regime change. Exactly. But amidst all this carefully staged ceremony, there's one moment of genuine painful loyalty. Ooh. Sima Fu. He's Sima Yan's granduncle, a senior member of the Sima family itself. What did he do? He goes before the deposed emperor, Cao Huan, and weeps openly. Declares loud and clear, I remain a Wei subject and will never abandon Wei. Wow. In front of the new Jin emperor. His own nephew. Yep. And he refused the fancy title, Prince of Anping, that Sima Yan offered him. That's a powerful statement. Loyalty over family over power. It really stands out, doesn't it? A reminder that not everyone just went along with the political script. But Yan, well, he moves fast to cement things. How? He establishes the seven temples, the He Gan. The ancestral shrines. Why is that so important? It's about deep legitimacy. It's not just about winning. You need to show your role was destined, rooted in the past. So he traces his family line back. Seven generations. Back to a Han dynasty general, Sima Jun. It connects the new Jin dynasty, not just to his father's recent victories, but frames it as the culmination of centuries of service and virtue. Makes it look inevitable.